Urban landscape architecture - Green network research on recreational needs and social care

Abstract

Interpretation of the concept of green network supply (a terminus technicus in Hungary for the network of public open spaces), quantification of quantitative and qualitative needs and expectations for urban development and planning stands as a key research topic in urban landscape architecture. The regulation of green network supply, the methodological approaches and the nearly hundred years of content formulas show constant change, development, and the integration of the always-changing aspects. Meeting the residential demand for a green network, i.e., the principle of green space supply, was a fundamental element of urban policy in the 20th-century urban development. Good access to the green network is still an important planning principle. The intensity of urban areas as well as urban population is constantly growing. Whether how important is the principle of good and proportionate access to green network elements in the conceptual system of green infrastructure today? To what extent does the development of green infrastructure determine, in particular, the quantitative, qualitative and structural development of the green network, the quality of urban life? Is there a direct link between human welfare and the amount of urban green network concerning its availability (m2 per capita) and its quality? The green space normative was based on theoretical foundations until the last third of the 20th century; after which the European urban planning published surveys to assess green residential demands. The green space norms developed by R. Unwin in 1929 served as an example for a long time. After the Second World War, the socialist bloc also sought to compete with the capitalist countries in the field of green space supply, and so, following a Soviet Model, Hungary included the normative regulation as part of the town planning regulations. Analysis of specific green spaces in Hungary was first made in Budapest by defining the catchment areas based on the size, design, and accessibility of the green elements. In international research of the 1990s, instead of specific (m2 green space per person) supply, the principle of availability became dominant. The European introduction of concepts such as green infrastructure, the carrying capacity of green spaces, and the ecosystem services brought attention to the necessity of complex assessment, while the positive effects of green networks on health and human well-being have inspired a new interdisciplinary research area. The study analyzes the changes and developments of European and Hungarian research directions and planning methodology. The introduction of Hungarian normative and green space supply research and the development of methodology are closely related to urban landscape architect tutors, researchers, and planning specialists. The most recent research results can be formulated based on the analysis and evaluation chapters of the Budapest Green Infrastructure Concept.